British advertising giant WPP tapped Cindy Rose, a Microsoft executive with a specialty in digital technology and A.I., as its next CEO, betting on an a relative outsider to lead the company into a new era after it has grappled with client losses and downturns in revenue.
Rose is currently chief operating officer of global enterprise at Microsoft, and spent time leading the company’s operations in the United Kingdom and western Europe. She also logged a 15-year stint at Walt Disney Co., where she helped lead its interactive media operations in Europe. She will start her term on September 1, and replace Mark Read, the current CEO.
“Cindy has supported the digital transformation of large enterprises around the world — including embracing AI to create new customer experiences, business models and revenue streams. Her expertise in this landscape will be hugely valuable to WPP as the industry navigates fundamental changes and macroeconomic uncertainty,” said Philip Jansen, chair of WPP’s board of directors, in a statement.
WPP, which operates dozens of agencies ranging from Hill & Knowlton to Landor & Fitch, has grown weaker under Read’s watch. Shares fallen by half over the course of Read’s seven-year tenure. Read spent 30 years at the company, many of them as a lieutenant to the company’s founder, Martin Sorrell. Sorrell exited the company in 2018 amid a probe of allegations of misconduct, and Read, who spent much of this time building new digital operations, became the company’s new leader.
WPP is, like its rivals, navigating through a difficult climate. Big advertisers like Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Ford Motor have begun focusing on the money they spend with companies like WPP, trying to winnow down not only the number of firms they work with but the fees they pay them. They are also able to purchase media time and collect consumer information more easily on their own. WPP and Interpublic Group, another of the sector’s big holding companies, have tried to focus on new technology that mines and analyzes consumer data, but have also had to merge some of their biggest and most recognizable assets.
The company may face continued pressures, especially as rivals Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group prepare to merge. On Wednesday, WPP said it had “seen a deterioration in performance as Q2 has progressed,” and Michael Nathanson, an analyst with MoffettNathanson said in a research note that “some of WPP’s pain is tied to macro pressures and less new business activity, as well as management changes in WPP Media,” but “structural headwinds are intensifying.”
Rose has been an independent director at WPP for the past six years. In a statement, she suggested the company was ready to meet the challenges of the time. “There are so many opportunities ahead for WPP. We have and continue to build market-leading AI capabilities, alongside an unrivalled reputation for creative excellence and a preeminent client list. WPP has the most brilliant, talented, creative people and I can’t wait to write the company’s next chapter together,” she said.
Rose is a graduate of Columbia University and New York Law School, and an advisory board member at Imperial College Business School in London and McLaren Racing. She has British and American citizenship and will be based in both London and New York.
